At the beginning of your physical exam...

Everything always laid out very briefly.

My doctor usually gives a brief overview at the start, and will walk me through the physical.

My doctor just tells me to strip down to my underwear and does what has to be done. When I joined the 40 plus crowd my doctor spoke with me regarding the importance of a yearly prostate exam. ( I was used to them every 5 years since my mid 20's). She never really got into it otherwise as I am not the type of guy who needs a lot hand holding and what not. I am "Old School" as they say.

No, I think she just assumes that I know what she'll be doing. I remember once the medical assistant who got my vitals and had me change in to a gown said "ok, great, now go ahead and take everything off and put this on, opening in back. You can cover up with this drape. Doctor will be in in a few minutes, he'll just want to listen to you, feel your belly, check your reflexes, you know....." I thought that was kinda cool.

Almost all the doctors I have had just get down to business without explanation unless you are there for something specific.

No I can't ever remember a doctor explaining the exam to me. They usually just gets on with it telling me when they needs me to removing clothing as the exam progresses.

I would agree with most of the other posters. My PCP and the other doctors I've seen have never really told me in advance what they are going to do.

I have been going to my PCP for years now, and I'm pretty familiar with his routine.

I had to get a physical at student health one time at college. When the nurse told me to take off everything including my underwear and to put on a gown, I pretty much figured the doctor was going to be looking at every part of me, even though he didn't tell me in advance what he was going to do.

I have never had a doctor explain the 'running order' first and would probably prefer not to know!

If I am meeting a new play patient I will usually have sent message with a few details about what will happen. With regular patients, I sometimes swap the order around a bit, it is good to change the routine sometimes

I've never had a doctor tell me whats going to happen. At my first pelvic exam, she did say "unfortunately this requires you to remove all your clothes and use a paper gown" but even then she never really explained much, or gave any insight as to what was going to happen. However, I had a good dang idea what I was in for haha.

Oh yes he does!

Right at the beginning of our "medical meeting" he asks me (still dressed) to have a seat at his desk and we usualy talk a few minutes about ev. health problems. then he also tells me the "today program" and I ev. ask him to check also some additional "things"!

After that he tells me to "go behind" and disrobe.

Once down to my briefs I walk straightly to the exam table and the exam beginns!

I have been with my doctor for several years and as such we have dveloped an excellent doctor/patient relationship. She really does not have to explain too much of anything to me but she will explain to me why I might an additional test or procedure that I might need.

My doctor being a woman always tells me what will happen in case i feel to embarrased.

Doctors are trained to keep you advised as they go so there's no surprise. As far as describing the whole exam before they start, that's a waste of time and would likely increase your anxiety as you worry about this or that part of the exam that's minutes away.

I don't tell my patients what to expect in an exam until I get to sensitive areas like pelvic, testicular or rectal exams. To tell them each step in advance would be a waste of time.

Leaving a facility where I was instructed to keep socks and underwear on and put on a gown.

I would have to agree with a lot of what has been stated, a physical exam for the most parts is determined by what the patients symptoms are or what they have said during the pre exam consultation . As the exam progresses and depending on what is found or suspected further exams may be necessary for example abdominal pain in a woman may require an abdominal exam followed by a pelvic and rectal exam depending on the results of the abdominal exam.

So it would be very difficult to tell a patient from the start what to expect in an exam. As Jds4med has stated Doctors are trained to advise as they go. As he stated it would be very time consuming and may cause addition fear, anxiety or worry in the patient.

As Liquidsky has stated when it comes to the more sensitive exams then an explanation is the best approach as well as a step by step explanation as you proceed ( best to explain what you are going to do before doing it) as these exams cause a level of anxiety in most patients.

My doctor does not tell me what he is going to do at the beginning. I have been going to him for about 10 years and the routine for the physical has not changed. The nurse weighs me in the hall, go to the room and get temperature, blood pressure, pulse and an EKG. Then we go to the xray room for a chest xray. Then back to the exam room and she tells me the doctor will be in soon. He comes in and asks me questions about my health the last year and reviews his file. He then starts with what I will call a normal physical, starts at the head, looks in eyes, ears, and throat. The he listens to my lungs, heart, palpates my abdomen. Then he tells me it is time for the hernia and prostate check and asks me to drop my drawers and he does those checks. He finishes up with renewing medications and recomendations, etc.

My doctor does not tell me what he will be examining before we start. Although, looking back on it, when he mentioned during the questions that we should also check my PSA, I should have seen what was coming at the end of my physical.

I have never had any doctor tell me in advance what they were going to check. I'm not sure I see the point in it. For the most part, everybody already knows what a physical includes (or at least could include). Obviously, every doctor is different. So a new doctor has quite a bit of unknown involved with a physical. Probably the only question for most people is if they are going to receive a genital or rectal exam.

No, the closest experience to that was when a PA met with me a couple of weeks before the physical exam to go over my health history. He told me at the meeting that he would be doing a rectal exam on me. No other description of the physical exam. I guessed that he told me that so that I could decide whether I was willing to have him do the physical or wait a few months for a physical exam appointment with the doctor. I was fine with him doing the exam and he did what he said.

In all the physical exams I've had my doctor hasn't told me how the exam will go and what he'll examine. At the beginning of my exams my doctor goes over my health history while I'm wearing a exam gown then begins the exam.

The verbal instructions provided before an exam always indicate exactly what I am to expect ...

The words "strip down to your underwear" or "take EVERYTHING off and place the gown on with the opening in the back" are simplistic!

😉

My doctor never discusses the specific parts of the exam before the actual exam starts. Usually we discuss health history and concerns before I am asked to put on a gown. There has never been an explicit acknowledgment that the exam will include or not include a genital exam.

Nope, never told anything like that. Mainly told “ strip down to your underwear” or take everything off but your underwear” and the doctor will be in soon.

The last dermatologist I saw told me that he would examine me from head to toe, but I had to take off only my T-shirt and my pants, to begin. I thought I should later take off my underwear and my socks, it was not necessary.

I've had nurses or nurses assistants, say to me, can you strip down completely and put his gown on. On one occasion, it was an ankle injury that I sustained, so I didn't. On another occasion, I had an injury in my right upper shoulder, however there was no visual presence of anything. So again I did not. Sometimes, I feel I just need to speak to the physician and I'll get my point over and I'll show them the issue.

After the nurse takes my history and vital signs she’ll look at the computer and say. “You’re scheduled for a full physical today so you will need to set undressed. I can give you a gown or you can just wear your shorts if you are comfortable with that. I opt for wearing my shorts.